An Easy, Rustic Flatbread You Can Serve at Every Family Get-Together

Every so often, we scour the site for cool recipes from our community that we then test, photograph, and feature. This one comes from longtime community member mrslarkin, who shares a favorite recipe from her mother that's simple, satisfying, and make-ahead friendly.

Piadina, a rustic Italian flatbread, is one of the first recipes my mom taught me how to make when I was little. I’m sure it’s one of the first recipes she learned as a young girl. My mom hardly ever used actual recipes when she used to cook. It was always by memory, feel, and sight. I think this is a skill many Italian nonnas have! I based my recipe on hers, just listed the ingredients and measurements. It's a regional Romagnola recipe—as old as the hills—dating back hundreds of years.

When rolling the dough, use one hand to gently roll each piece into a ball on the board or counter. As a kid, I loved playing with the dough and rolling out my very own piece, misshapen and crooked. To this day, I still can’t roll them perfectly round like mom can. Her trick is to use your thumb and nudge the dough ball under with each turn.

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I still make this bread all the time. In our family, piadina is a fixture at almost every get-together, be it lunch or dinner. We love to eat it sandwiched with paper-thin slices of Prosciutto di Parma, or sautéed cabbage, or sliced mozzarella, or a schmear of squaquerone cheese. Maybe some frittata, or Nutella. My favorite way to eat piadina is with a salad of sliced red onion and wild home-grown greens that we call radicchio, but are more like bitter dandelion greens. The feasting possibilities are pretty much endless.

Do you have a recipe that's been passed down in your family? Or one you want to make sure your future generations make? Let us know in the comments and it might be featured as one of our heirloom recipes!